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Our morning session was with Rakefet Ginsberg, CEO of Masorti Israel. In her role for just about 3 years, Rakefet shared her sense that she was constantly moving from crisis to crisis and that certainly resonated with me. 

She spoke about the role of Masorti in Israel: the work they're doing and all that has yet to be done. 

For many years, the perception in Israel has been that the choices in Judaism were limited to Orthodox or secular. Masorti is changing that, community by community, all over Israel.

Our first stop was Leket, in Rishon L'Tzion, an organization that started 20 years ago as a food rescue. Today, they are providing fresh produce to a variety of social service agencies who , in turn, distribute food to displaced individuals and families, soldiers and many others. 

After October 7, Israeli's agriculture labour force was decimated when 40,000 Thai nationals, who worked on farms, left the country. In addition, Palestinian farm labourers who used to cross into Israel on a daily basis are no longer doing so. 

Together with two groups of young women, one from Mexico City and one from the UK, we picked 2 tons of kohlrabi. 

After a quick lunch at a nearby mall, we went to the the Jaffa Institute. Our "guide" was Zina Wernick, daughter of Beth Tzedec's Senior Rabbi Steve Wernick. She explained the Institute's mandate, offering food boxes for Holocaust survivors, families dealing with food scarcity and others who may be in need. As you can imagine, the demand has increased dramatically since the war started. Additionally, the Institute runs after school programs and a variety of other initiatives. 

We packed a pallet of boxes with a variety of dried and canned foods, very similar to the NCJW Passover Food Drive that we housed last year (and, I'm pleased to say, will be doing  again this year). While we had a good time, it was, surprisingly, not a very efficient operation. 

Towards the end of the day we headed to Hostages Square. We had the opportunity to meet privately with Yair Moses. Yair's parents, Kibbutz Nir Oz residents, were both kidnapped on October 7. His mother was one of the two elderly women released in late October. His 79-year-old father, Gadi, is still being held by Hamas. 

Yair shared about how this trauma has affected his family. Interestingly, he noted that her time in captivity strengthened his mother and that the responsibility she felt taking care of others gave her a strong sense of purpose during those dark days. 

Yair has not worked since 10/7 and spends most of his time bringing awareness to the plight of the remaining hostages. To that end, he gives interviews and does speaking engagements frequently. 

We participated in a prayer circle in the Square but could barely hear each other as there were several other events and gatherings happening at the same time.

As the sun set,  hundreds of teens gathered for a large rally. On one hand, it was wonderful to see so  many young Israelis galvanized by this cause but I found the atmosphere almost festive and I must admit I was unsettled by that.    

More to come tomorrow...